Mark of the Beast
by Lord Lycaon
Summary: "Legend tells of a beast most vicious, its wild eyes savage, its razor teeth ferocious. It passes its bane through its mark, turning the hearts of others dark. If you do not confront the beast by brightest night, you will be forever doomed to repeat this accursed rite."
1. Once Bitten

**(A young man walks into a room and sits on a small stool. He pulls out a few note cards and begin to stack them neatly, then clears his throat and holds up the first note card to read it) Ponies. That is all. (Tosses the note cards away and walks off without another word.)**

-o-

"Uh, Scootaloo? Are you sure about this?" Sweetie Belle gulped nervously as she, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom made their way through the Everfree Forest. Scootaloo had told them that she had come up with a surefire way for them to earn their cutie marks, but she didn't go into great detail. The forest was just as dank and eerie as ever. Small animals scampered around just out of sight, and larger creatures bellowed deep, growling calls that made the Cutie Mark Crusaders shudder. The slowly darkening sky didn't help any.

Despite her own obvious fear, Scootaloo pressed on. "Of course I'm sure! This is definitely gonna work! I just know it!"

"Ah don't know," Apple Bloom said uneasily. "Ah've never been further into the Everfree than Zecora's place. And even then, most of the time, Ah got family with me." She jumped at a sound that only turned out to be a wild rabbit hopping out of a bush and into another.

"Oh, come on!" Scootaloo turned and faced her two friends. "Look, remember back when we had our first sleepover at Fluttershy's place, and we talked about becoming creature catchers?" The fillies nodded. "Well, I heard that there's a wild beast somewhere out here in the forest, and we're gonna catch it!"

"Need Ah remind you that we were almost turned to stone by a cockatrice that same night?" Apple Bloom stated rather bluntly.

The pegasus filly sighed. "Don't remind me…" Suddenly, she perked right back up. "But this one's different! They say that this creature looks like a pony, but acts like some kind of Everfree animal. It mostly only comes out at night, which is why I told you both to come just before sunset!"

"This sounds really dangerous," Sweetie Belle pointed out. "I think we should just stick with the basic stuff. You know… hang gliding, bungee jumping, operating heavy machinery. That all seems way safer than this."

Scootaloo scoffed at that. "Come on, you guys! Nopony got their cutie marks without taking risks!"

"She's got a point," Apple Bloom said in reluctant agreement. Hesitantly, Sweetie Belle nodded as well, and the Crusaders moved onward.

-o-

Twilight Sparkle hummed a light tune as she did some last minute studying before bed. She was reading a book on proper aerodynamics during flight, a book that Princess Celestia had given her after she became an alicorn to help her with her flying. It was much more difficult than she had initially thought. There were more motions involved than just flapping her wings. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had been pretty good instructors so far, and she was making decent progress.

She wrote down a few notes and closed the book, giving a yawn as she did. She had just decided to go to bed when, out of nowhere, her door was kicked in and Applejack ran in, looking distraught, with an equally fretful Rarity and Rainbow Dash right behind her.

"Twilight!" Applejack shouted. "Have you seen Apple Bloom and her friends? We've been looking everywhere for 'em!"

"They're missing?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, my, yes!" Rarity exclaimed worriedly. "We've searched high and low for little Sweetie Belle and the others all this evening! It's as if they've just up and vanished!"

"We were thinking you could help us," Rainbow explained. "You have to have some kind of spell around here somewhere that can help us find them!"

Twilight took a step back at their insistence. Shaking off her initial shock at their arrival, she got to thinking. "I might have something," she said as she went around the library, pulling out books and flipping through them one by one. Soon enough, she stopped and put away all but one of the books, which she quickly read. "This is a tracking spell used to find magical creatures. Mostly ones that the caster is familiar with. Rarity or I could use it to find Sweetie Belle, and where we find Sweetie Belle, we're likely to find Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, too!"

"Well, what're you waiting you waiting for?" Rainbow said impatiently. "Do it!"

Twilight nodded and concentrated her magic, focusing on the magical aura that Sweetie Belle gave off just by being a unicorn. Her horn glowed brightly, and she opened her eyes. "I've got her! Follow me!" With that, she headed out, her friends following her closely.

And much to each of their individual horror, the trail led them into the Everfree Forest.

-o-

It had gotten much, much darker since the trio entered the forest. The cold, bleak, emptiness pervaded throughout the woods, making each of them feel lost and alone. Even Scootaloo didn't seem so certain of her own plan at this point. The three of them kept huddled close together out of fear of being separated.

"A-Ah think w-we should just head on back home," Apple Bloom suggested fearfully. "M-maybe we could try an' get our cutie marks in herdin' animals."

"Maybe you can," Scootaloo replied, "but Sweetie Belle and I have no idea how to herd animals. Besides, I'm sure we're close now! I can feel it!" Just then, a low, throaty growl was heard. Scootaloo jumped backwards a few steps and gulped. "I hope. Think."

"Can we please just go home?" Sweetie Belle pleaded. "Rarity must be worried sick about me by now."

"Applejack, too," Apple Bloom added in.

Scootaloo looked at them like they were crazy for a moment, then heard that deep growl again. "Uh, yeah, okay. We can try something else. Tomorrow. In the morning. During the daytime." With that, the Crusaders turned around and proceeded back the way they came. Until they saw somepony standing in their path.

The pony ahead of them towered over them greatly. He was even taller than Big Macintosh, and definitely brawnier. His coat and mane were wild and unkempt, and his eyes seemed to glow a vicious shade of yellow. Other than that, they couldn't make out any of his features. It was simply too dark.

"Um, h-hello?" Sweetie Belle greeted with a nervous grin.

The light of the moon managed to shine through then, revealing the stallion's appearance. His coat was a steely gray, and his mane and tail were dark. He had no visible cutie mark. But his most frightening feature was his teeth. They were long, razor-sharp fangs that were bared constantly.

"Uh…" Sweetie struggled to think of something to say, since both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were too busy cowering behind her. "D-don't worry, girls. Maybe he's friendly?" The stallion roared right in her face, saliva hitting her almost as hard as his breath. When he finished, she just stared at him with wide eyes. "Not friendly."

That prompted the other two to gallop as fast as they could, screaming their heads off, running right past the huge stallion, and inadvertently leaving Sweetie Belle behind. She sat there on the ground, paralyzed by sheer terror as the stallion snarled at her. She was completely and utterly terrified of him. She had no idea what to do. Her brain had practically shut down completely. The stallion took a step closer to her. He raised one hoof as if he were about to strike her.

Just then, out of nowhere, a beam of purple struck the stallion, sending him hurtling into a nearby tree. The unicorn filly shook her head in disbelief at first, then realized that she had just been rescued. As she came to this conclusion, somepony suddenly wrapped their forelegs around her in a bear hug.

"Oh, Sweetie, darling!" Rarity cried overdramatically as tears of both joy and concern poured out of her eyes as Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash arrived, followed by Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. "Oh, I was so worried! I was completely distraught! Are you okay? Are you hurt at all? Did that big bully harm you in any way?"

Sweetie squirmed in Rarity's grasp, trying to get free. "I'm okay, Rarity, really. You can let go now." As if on cue, the stallion jumped back at them, landing just a foot away. "Don't let me go! Don't let me go!"

The mad stallion charged at them again, but was once more struck by a magic bolt from Twilight's horn. "AJ, Rainbow, Rarity!" she called. "Get the girls to safety! I'll hold this guy off!" He friends nodded, grabbed the fillies, and hurried off. The wild stallion was about to give chase, but was blocked by the young alicorn. She narrowed her eyes at him as he began prowling around her. He was clearly not a pony, despite having the form of one. "Who or what are you?" Twilight asked, her horn glowing with a spell ready.

The stallion snarled at her, continuing to simply stalk her. His savage yellow eyes betrayed a brutal cunning that she recognized from a few predators that she had seen before, but those eyes of his were most similar to timberwolves and other wolf-like creatures. It was more than a little intimidating if she had to be honest.

Suddenly, the stallion charged at her faster than she could react, tackling her painfully to the ground. She felt a sharp pain in her left shoulder when he hit her, cringing in reaction. She hit him back with a burst of magic that sent him flying into the forest and crashing into a large boulder. She panted heavily when he was off of her and reached to her shoulder. He had sunk his teeth into her flesh fairly deep. Not deep enough to be a true concern, but just enough to hurt a lot. She looked back at the stallion, who had gotten up shakily and glared angrily at her.

They locked eyes at that moment. His savage eyes narrowed threateningly at her. After a few moments, he turned and limped away, but Twilight had gotten the message that he sent through just that glare: he wanted revenge.

Twilight rubbed her wounded shoulder, the fresh injury stinging painfully when she touched it. She sighed and made her way down the path by which she and her friends had entered the forest. When she found the others, they all panicked when they saw that she had been injured, but she assured them that it was nothing that a visit to Nurse Redheart couldn't fix. As they left the forest, she gave one last glance back at the Everfree. Hopefully, they wouldn't encounter that… thing again.


	2. Restless and Angry

Twilight groaned exhaustedly as she sat up in bed to the sound of her obnoxious alarm clock. She glared at the device for a moment before picking it up with her magic and smashing it against the wall, breaking it into a number of tiny fragments. She was _not_ in a good mood.

Reluctantly, she climbed out of bed, refusing to brush her mane and tail or clean herself up in any way like she normally would, and headed downstairs and into the kitchen, where Spike had fixed up a plate of pancakes and hay-bacon. She sat wordlessly and started eating. Spike faced her with a look of concern.

"Wow, Twilight," he said in mild surprise at her disorganized appearance. "You don't look so good."

"I could barely get any sleep at all last night," the young alicorn admitted with a sigh. "Just like every night for the past few days." She took a bite of her hay-bacon and laid her head on the table with a tired yawn.

It had been about a week since the incident in the Everfree, when that mad stallion had tried to hurt the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Ever since that night, Twilight had been somewhat restless. It was a small change at first, hardly noticeable. But as time passed, it had gotten worse. Her nights had suddenly gotten long and virtually sleepless, she had a constant need to move, and she had been having small bursts of anger every now and then. It was like she was stuck in a permanent state of agitation.

Speaking of which, she had suddenly started tapping her hoof against the floor impatiently. She needed to move soon, or she'd start on one of her random fits of anger again. She hurriedly finished her breakfast and left her plate and silverware for Spike to pick up and clean. She rushed to clean herself up, only managing to make herself look a little less sloppy, then hurried to the door.

"Spike, I'm going out for a little bit!" she called to the baby dragon. She didn't wait for a response, immediately leaving the building and taking in the fresh air that filled Ponyville. She took a deep breath and gave a sigh of relief, heading out into town.

"Twilight!" Spike called from a window. "Don't forget, you have flying lessons with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy today! You agreed to meet up at Fluttershy's cottage." Twilight nodded and headed off. Maybe her flying lessons would her clear her mind and get rid of some of this extra energy, wherever it had come from.

As she walked through town, she was greeted as she had normally been by several other ponies. Nothing had really changed too much since she had been coronated. Except for the wings. And the fact that everypony seemed to get at least a little bit nervous around her, which was understandable, given her new station of authority. However, despite everyone's cheerful attitudes, she only felt… angry? Pent-up? She couldn't really place it.

Going down her usual route to Fluttershy's cottage, she turned a corner, only to bump into somepony. She yelped in surprise, then glared angrily at the gray pegasus mare she had run into. It was Derpy Hooves, the local mailmare, apparently just doing her job.

"Sorry, Twilight!" Derpy apologized hurriedly as she rushed to pick the mail she had dropped. "I-!"

"Why don't you watch where you're going, you freak!?" Twilight shouted at her in a sudden fit of outrage. She instantly covered her mouth when she realized what she had said, and saw the shocked and hurt look in the other mare's odd eyes. "I… I'm sorry. Having a bad day. I didn't mean to…" She sighed in exasperation. "I've gotta go." With that said, she galloped off, not giving Derpy a chance to respond. She needed to get somewhere to clear her head.

-o-

Fluttershy hummed a sweet tune as she went through her garden, watering the flowers and vegetables that she grew there, many of her animal friends helping her with her chores. She giggled when she saw Angel apparently bickering with a bear over a blueberry bush. She went over to the bush and began picking berries and placing them all into one large pile. She then grabbed a two hooffuls of berries and placed them in front of Angel, who glared at her indignantly.

"Now, Angel," she said calmly, "Harry here is bigger than you. He needs to eat more to fill himself up. Besides, I don't want you getting a tummy ache from eating too much. Do you?" Angel rolled his eyes at the mare, but otherwise didn't offer any argument. Fluttershy giggled again and returned to caring for her garden.

After a few minutes, she headed back inside her home just in time for somepony to knock on her door. She hurried over to answer, and was greeted by Twilight, who seemed… tired. She knew of the young princess's recent lack of sleep, but she looked especially out of it today.

"Hey, Fluttershy," Twilight greeted with a heavy sigh. "You mind if I come in?"

"Not at all," the yellow pegasus replied, allowing the other mare into her home. "Is something the matter? You look like you have something on your mind. I mean, if it's private, you don't have to say anything."

Twilight chuckled dryly. "It's okay. I need to talk anyway." She took a deep breath. "I shouted at someone today. It was Derpy. I just happened to bump into her, and I called her a freak." She sighed again. "I'm starting to think that there's something really wrong with me."

"What do you mean?"

"I usually don't have any trouble sleeping at night, I don't normally need to move constantly, and I'm never really aggressive to anypony. I've talked to Nurse Redheart about it, but she says it's most likely just stress getting to me."

"Then… isn't it really nothing to worry about?"

"Maybe, but I…" Twilight began pacing around the room, clearly getting impatient. "I'm just…" She stopped and looked around at Fluttershy's home. "Whenever I'm indoors, it gets worse. I feel like the walls are closing in on me, like they're trying to keep me inside. And when I'm outside, specifically when I'm out of town, or in a forest, or even in the sky when I'm flying, I feel…" She trailed off.

Curious, Fluttershy approached her friend and said, "Feel what?"

The alicorn shook her head, trying to gather her thoughts, and headed over to the nearest window. "I feel… free. Like I belong out there. Forever. Like I don't need to follow anyone's rules. I just need to live in the moment. It…" She looked back to Fluttershy, who blinked a few times in confusion. "It's difficult to explain in so many words. It's the kind of feeling that others would have to feel as well in order to really understand."

"Oh." The pegasus thought on that for a moment. "Well, maybe it's just a sign that you need to spend more time outside? I know that even I have to go and talk to other ponies every once in a while."

"Maybe," Twilight agreed, albeit somewhat unsurely. "I'll have to talk to someone else soon, though. Maybe Zecora will have an answer for me? She knows about all sorts of illnesses."

"If you think that that's the best course of action," Fluttershy said with a smile and a nod.

Twilight nodded back. "It's settled then. After my flying lessons with you and Rainbow today, I'll go talk to Zecora." The purple mare felt some form of hope flare up in her chest slightly. If Zecora said that there was nothing wrong with her, then she would know for absolute certain that she was just fine.

-o-

Within the Everfree, Zecora hurriedly spread a fine powder in a circle around her hut, muttering shirt chants as she worked. She had only just noticed the signs. Something was loose, and it wasn't friendly. She had started working to protect herself until the danger passed almost the instant she realized the threat. And she was nearly finished.

As she completed the circle of powder around her home, she uttered one last chant just before entering her hut. With a sigh of relief, she slumped down into the nearest chair. She looked outside a window, and gasped slightly when she saw a pair of savage yellow eyes glaring right at her. They narrowed ominously, then disappeared into the forest, leaving the zebra with a rapidly beating heart and a cold sweat running down her back.

She took a few calming breaths, reminding herself that the measures she took would keep her safe. "Relax, I must stay calm," she said to herself quietly. "Upon me danger shall not fall." She repeated that phrase in her mind like a mantra, trying to ease her own concerns. She was safe from that cursed beast. But she realized quickly that she could only pray for anyone else who comes face to face with that monster.


	3. A Dark Legend

The violet mare hummed happily as she trotted through the woods, not really sure why she was so happy all of a sudden. Being in the Everfree made her feel more at peace somehow. Normally, the forest would unnerve her with its unnatural sounds and darkness. Spike, who had volunteered to accompany her to Zecora's hut in the woods, kept fidgeting nervously as he walked at her side. He kept glancing at her, getting worried about how cheerful she seemed.

"Uh, Twilight?" he said, getting the mare's attention. "You look a little too happy right now. It's kinda creepy."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the baby dragon, then gave a light, almost contented sigh. "I don't know what to tell you, Spike," she admitted. "I'm not sure why, but the Everfree Forest just feels… homey. I'm not entirely sure why." She truly wasn't completely certain why she felt the way she did. It took all of her willpower to resist the urge to just gallop off and do the first things that came to mind, regardless of the consequences.

"Well, it's still weird," Spike complained. Twilight just shrugged, and the pair continued on their way through the forest.

Twilight's ears twitched at every little sound. She caught scents from the woods that she never noticed before. It was… strange. Exhilarating. And more than a little frightening. She had no idea what was happening to her, and it scared her. But there was another part of her that enjoyed it. That part of her kept telling her not to question it and just let go of everything. The logical part of her, however, was practically screaming at her to find out what was going on.

Thankfully, her logical mind was still dominant. That other part that had only recently developed… it bothered her. It was only a small part of her, though. She hoped that it wouldn't get any stronger and somehow over power her sense of reason.

As she pondered this, Spike suddenly announced their arrival. "There's Zecora's hut!" he said.

"Yes, I see it, Spike," Twilight replied. "You don't need to shout it right into my- GYOW!" She suddenly bucked back, startling Spike into falling back on his rump. She held her left foreleg up to see her hoof, which felt like she had put it into a lit furnace. She blew on it to try and soothe the pain some, but her attempts were in vain.

"What happened?" Spike asked worriedly. "Are you all right?"

The purple mare shook her head. "I have no idea what just happened," she admitted. "My hoof feels like it's on fire right now! What did I just step in?" She looked down at the spot where she had stepped, and saw a ring of strange green and blue powder surrounding Zecora's hut. She had never seen that there before. Curious, she leaned towards it, feeling some sort of heat coming off it, intensifying as she drew closer. When she couldn't stand it anymore, she backed away. "What is that?"

"What?" Spike asked. He looked at the peculiar powder and took some in his claw, sprinkling it back to where he picked it up, his brow raised slightly in confusion. "You mean this weird dirt? There doesn't seem to be anything really off about it."

"But it burned me when I touched it," Twilight pointed out. "Why would Zecora put something like this around her house? And why doesn't it affect you?"

"Dragon scales?" the young reptile suggested. Twilight thought on that and nodded her agreement. It was the only logical conclusion. Spike often bragged about the toughness of his scales, and how it was difficult to physically harm him. But that still left the question of why Zecora would surround her house with such a volatile chemical. Was she trying to keep something out? That couldn't be right. She had never done that before, so why now?

"Zecora?" Twilight called, hoping that the zebra was home. "Are you there? I need to talk to you about something!"

A few moments passed. Soon enough, however, the door opened, and the zebra enchantress stepped out, giving nervous, side-to-side glances. That was unusually uncharacteristic of her. She was never nervous. When she saw the two visitors, she said, "Come, come, you must hurry into my hut, lest you be attacked by that accursed mutt!"

Twilight and Spike looked at each other briefly. Spike headed over first, crossing the odd powder without a problem. Twilight, however, hesitated. Just getting close to that dust was enough to make her feel as though she were walking on the sun.

"Come on, Twilight!" Spike called impatiently. "It's just dirt! Just step over it."

The young alicorn shook her head. "I-I can't," she said. "Just getting close to it hurts."

Zecora's eyes widened at that statement. She looked closer at the mare, analyzing her studiously until she spotted the very faint scar that had been left over from when that mad stallion bit her. "Oh, no, this is not good," the zebra said in a fretful, almost panicking tone. "You have been marked, of all the ponies in your neighborhood!"

"Marked?" Twilight asked. Zecora just started muttering something in her native tongue as she approached the ring of powder. Gradually, the heat that came off of it faded, and Twilight felt like she might be able to cross without worry. Zecora motioned for her to do so. The purple mare bit her lip and stepped over the powder, not wanting to take any chances, then hurried over to the hut. Zecora then chanted in her own language again as she began to break the circle, then fixing it again so that it looked almost exactly as it had earlier.

When she finished, the zebra hurried back into her hut, nodding for Twilight and Spike to follow. They entered the small home, where Zecora quickly began pacing, muttering to herself again.

Something wasn't right, Twilight figured. "Um… Zecora?" she spoke up, getting the enchantress's attention. "Is everything all right? What's with that powder around your house? It doesn't seem safe."

Zecora narrowed her eyes, making Twilight take a slight step back. "That powder is perfectly safe for ponies of the norm," she said cryptically. "It is only dangerous to those who are doomed to lose their common form."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at that. "What does that mean?"

"You've encountered the beast already, I can see. Since then, you've experienced dreams of animals most free."

This time, the mare blinked in confusion. "How did you know about the dreams I've been having? And what does it have to do with a beast? I remember saving Sweetie Belle and her friends from some crazed stallion, but-"

"That was the beast," Zecora interrupted. "If not for you, on the Cutie Mark Crusaders he would have had a feast."

"Okay, I'll bite," Spike chimed in. "What beast are you talking about?"

Zecora eyed the young dragon and mare. She walked over to a small bookshelf, where she collected a large tome and brought to Twilight. She opened it to a page showing an image of a stallion that looked frighteningly similar to the stallion that had attacked the CMC. "Legend tells of a beast most vicious," Zecora began, "its wild eyes savage, its razor teeth ferocious. It passes its bane through its mark, turning the hearts of others dark." She turned to Twilight, her expression grim. "If you do not confront the beast by brightest night, you will be forever doomed to repeat this accursed rite."

"Hang on a minute," Spike said, looking closely at the illustration in the book. "That weirdly fits the description of a werepony. I thought they were just an old mares' tale?"

Zecora shook her head. "They are quite real, I do assure you now, my friend. And if Twilight does not stop this new one, it will surely mean Ponyville's end."

Twilight shook her head in disbelief. "Y-you said something about confronting the werepony by brightest night. What does that mean, exactly?"

"What I say is what it seems. You must defeat the beast by the moon's greatest gleam."

"You mean a full moon?" Spike asked. Zecora nodded grimly. "But… hang on a minute!" He rushed over to a nearby calendar scanned through the days. "The next full moon is tomorrow night!"

"Tomorrow!?" Twilight shouted with wide eyes. "How the hay are we supposed to find the werepony in one day!? He could be anywhere! Or… any_one_."

"That's really bleak," Spike acknowledged.

"But true, I do fear," Zecora stated, turning to Twilight again. "You must make haste, lest your mind disappear." Twilight nodded and was about to hurry out with Spike when Zecora stopped them both. "Before you go, you must learn the only way to conquer the beast. An artifact of polished silver will render him… deceased."


End file.
